Title: Prepare the Royal Highway
Author: Franz Michael Franzen, 1772-1847
Swedish title: Bereden väg för Herran
Translation: Lutheran Book of Worship, 1978
Scripture Verse: Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. - Zechariah 9:9 ESV
1 Prepare the royal highway, the King of kings is near;
let every hill and valley a level road appear.
Then greet the king of glory foretold in sacred story:
Refrain:
Hosanna to the Lord, for he fulfills God’s Word!
2 God’s people, see him coming: your own eternal king!
Palm branches strew before him; spread garments; shout and sing.
God’s promise will not fail you; no more shall doubt assail you: [Refrain]
3 Then fling the gates wide open to greet your promised king;
your king, yet every nation its tribute too should bring.
All lands will bow before him; your voices join their singing: [Refrain]
4 His is no earthly kingdom; it comes from heaven above.
His rule is peace and freedom, and justice, truth, and love.
So let your praise be sounding for kindness so abounding: [Refrain]
“Prepare the royal highway!” I have grown to love this hymn over the last fifteen or so years, and the first Sunday of Advent wouldn’t be the same for me without it. But I confess that the existence of this joyful Advent hymn confused me for quite some time. It didn’t make sense to me why we were singing “hosannas” and about palm branches in the four weeks before Christmas.
Both as a seminary student and as a child in an American Lutheran context, it was impressed upon me in those years that Advent is meant primarily as a penitential season of the church year, a time focused on “anticipation” and “preparation” for Christmas. The thought was that Advent is to Christmas what Lent is to Easter. Hence, my Advent experience in North America was mostly gloomy. It was said that for us to appreciate the mountain height of Christmas, we first needed to walk through the dark valley of Advent. There is a certain logic to this, I’ll admit.
But when I served my pastoral internship (vicarage) at a Lutheran church in Germany in 2004-2005, I first experienced Advent in a different way. It was for me a breath of fresh air. The first Sunday of Advent was far from gloomy and penitential in focus. It was a joyous experience filled with gratitude at the message of Jesus Christ’s coming into the world. A brass choir played joyful Advent hymns from the church tower. The appointed gospel reading that Sunday was from Matthew 21, the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem, the same Scripture reading used on Palm Sunday. I found that rather odd, but it prompted me to dig deeper into the meaning of Advent. What I discovered was a pleasant surprise.
The exact origin of Advent as a season in the Western Christian liturgical calendar is unclear, but it does appear to have been the last of the seasons of the church calendar to have developed. Some time in the Middle Ages, the four Sundays before Christmas were designated as the time of Advent (Latin for “arrival” or “coming”), focused on the arrival of Christ in our world. The one-year Scripture lectionary for Advent 1 appointed Jesus’ ride into Jerusalem as the Scripture reading for that day. This tradition has generally been lost in North America, as a three-year Scripture lectionary has replaced the older practice over the last half century.
Even in the time of the Reformation, Martin Luther, his colleagues, and subsequent generations of Lutherans continued to use this ancient one-year Scripture lectionary as the basis for their preaching. This is why so many Lutheran Advent hymns make reference to palm branches and “hosannas.” Their preaching focused on the good news that God has sent Jesus into the world to be our Savior. As he arrived in Jerusalem on that day to begin the week that would culminate in his sacrificial death, we remember that he, the eternal Son of God, came into our world in the flesh. “God’s people see him coming,” and that is good news for us. We praise God for His gift to us, but God does not come because of our praise or preparation. His rejoicing over us is the cause of our rejoicing. God calls, and we respond.
Franz Michael Franzen was a Finnish-born Lutheran preacher who served in Sweden, and his hymn Bereden väg för Herran captures this historic focus of joy at the arrival of Christ for us. Jesus came to us apart from any worthiness in ourselves. In the words of Martin Luther’s Small Catechism: “Therefore, I ought to thank, praise, serve, and obey him!” “So let your praise be sounding for kindness so abounding.”
At the link below, you can find a recording of Franzen’s hymn by the Swedish singer Sonja Alden.
https://duckduckgo.com/?q=BEREDEN+V%C3%84G+F%C3%96R+HERRAN&iax=videos&ia=videos&iai=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DucxDx0oLFqM
Author: Franz Michael Franzen, 1772-1847
Swedish title: Bereden väg för Herran
Translation: Lutheran Book of Worship, 1978
Scripture Verse: Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. - Zechariah 9:9 ESV
1 Prepare the royal highway, the King of kings is near;
let every hill and valley a level road appear.
Then greet the king of glory foretold in sacred story:
Refrain:
Hosanna to the Lord, for he fulfills God’s Word!
2 God’s people, see him coming: your own eternal king!
Palm branches strew before him; spread garments; shout and sing.
God’s promise will not fail you; no more shall doubt assail you: [Refrain]
3 Then fling the gates wide open to greet your promised king;
your king, yet every nation its tribute too should bring.
All lands will bow before him; your voices join their singing: [Refrain]
4 His is no earthly kingdom; it comes from heaven above.
His rule is peace and freedom, and justice, truth, and love.
So let your praise be sounding for kindness so abounding: [Refrain]
“Prepare the royal highway!” I have grown to love this hymn over the last fifteen or so years, and the first Sunday of Advent wouldn’t be the same for me without it. But I confess that the existence of this joyful Advent hymn confused me for quite some time. It didn’t make sense to me why we were singing “hosannas” and about palm branches in the four weeks before Christmas.
Both as a seminary student and as a child in an American Lutheran context, it was impressed upon me in those years that Advent is meant primarily as a penitential season of the church year, a time focused on “anticipation” and “preparation” for Christmas. The thought was that Advent is to Christmas what Lent is to Easter. Hence, my Advent experience in North America was mostly gloomy. It was said that for us to appreciate the mountain height of Christmas, we first needed to walk through the dark valley of Advent. There is a certain logic to this, I’ll admit.
But when I served my pastoral internship (vicarage) at a Lutheran church in Germany in 2004-2005, I first experienced Advent in a different way. It was for me a breath of fresh air. The first Sunday of Advent was far from gloomy and penitential in focus. It was a joyous experience filled with gratitude at the message of Jesus Christ’s coming into the world. A brass choir played joyful Advent hymns from the church tower. The appointed gospel reading that Sunday was from Matthew 21, the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem, the same Scripture reading used on Palm Sunday. I found that rather odd, but it prompted me to dig deeper into the meaning of Advent. What I discovered was a pleasant surprise.
The exact origin of Advent as a season in the Western Christian liturgical calendar is unclear, but it does appear to have been the last of the seasons of the church calendar to have developed. Some time in the Middle Ages, the four Sundays before Christmas were designated as the time of Advent (Latin for “arrival” or “coming”), focused on the arrival of Christ in our world. The one-year Scripture lectionary for Advent 1 appointed Jesus’ ride into Jerusalem as the Scripture reading for that day. This tradition has generally been lost in North America, as a three-year Scripture lectionary has replaced the older practice over the last half century.
Even in the time of the Reformation, Martin Luther, his colleagues, and subsequent generations of Lutherans continued to use this ancient one-year Scripture lectionary as the basis for their preaching. This is why so many Lutheran Advent hymns make reference to palm branches and “hosannas.” Their preaching focused on the good news that God has sent Jesus into the world to be our Savior. As he arrived in Jerusalem on that day to begin the week that would culminate in his sacrificial death, we remember that he, the eternal Son of God, came into our world in the flesh. “God’s people see him coming,” and that is good news for us. We praise God for His gift to us, but God does not come because of our praise or preparation. His rejoicing over us is the cause of our rejoicing. God calls, and we respond.
Franz Michael Franzen was a Finnish-born Lutheran preacher who served in Sweden, and his hymn Bereden väg för Herran captures this historic focus of joy at the arrival of Christ for us. Jesus came to us apart from any worthiness in ourselves. In the words of Martin Luther’s Small Catechism: “Therefore, I ought to thank, praise, serve, and obey him!” “So let your praise be sounding for kindness so abounding.”
At the link below, you can find a recording of Franzen’s hymn by the Swedish singer Sonja Alden.
https://duckduckgo.com/?q=BEREDEN+V%C3%84G+F%C3%96R+HERRAN&iax=videos&ia=videos&iai=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DucxDx0oLFqM